Louis de Contades

Marquis Louis de Contades (1704-1795) was a general of the Kingdom of France during the Seven Years' War.

Biography
Marquis Louis de Contades was born in Gizeux, Anjou, in the Kingdom of France in 1704. In 1745 he was made a Lieutenant-General after many promotions, and in 1758 he took over the Army of Westphalia during the climax of the Seven Years' War. On 24 August 1758 he was made a Marshal of France, although he was unable to prevent his army from retreating over the Rhine after losing Hanover to Great Britain. On 1 August 1759, Ferdinand of Brunswick-Wolfenbuttel led a 37,000-strong British and German army to pursue the French and defeated his 44,000-strong army, breaking through three lines of French infantry with one line of cavalry. Contades was relieved soon after and died in 1795 in Livry.